Appendix
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APPENDIX E
SOURCES OF CIVIC ASSISTANCE
During each step in a visioning and planning process, a participatory approach can help to build widespread agreement and support within the community. The issues tackled with smart growth planning are often contentious, however, and political and emotional currents may run strong. For this reason, it may help to get the assistance of a qualified, neutral, outside agent. These agents are often called facilitators; they also may be called (with somewhat different meanings) negotiators, mediators, leadership directors, or conflict management specialists. Collectively, they could be referred to as "civic assistance providers."
Below is a list of some civic assistance providers in Tennessee. Only not-for-profit providers are listed, but in addition, a number of services are available within the state on a for-profit basis. Following the list is a selection of some of the many books that provide valuable insights, often through the use of case studies, in the field of civic assistance. Internet sites on conflict resolution follow the listing of books. None of these lists are exhaustive; instead, they simply are intended to help readers initiate their search for civic assistance with their visioning and planning processes.
In Tennessee, a statewide network of Community Mediation Centers (CMC) is being built in conjunction with Victim-Offender Reconciliation Programs (VORP). The following are seven CMCs in Tennessee:
A few other non-profit sources in Tennessee that could be consulted are:
BOOKS ON CIVIC ASSISTANCE
This text is intended to aid groups in the sorting of options available to them during dispute resolution. The book also explains common words and concepts. Contact information for dispute resolution organizations, training providers, mediator referrals, and university-based programs are included in the appendices as well as information on qualifications, certifications, and trainings.
The FutureScapes Manual (due out in January 1999) has a chapter (4) that discusses the benefits of using the FutureScapes approach. Within this chapter one can find information on citizen participation, consensus building, collaboration, and leadership building. The CDC also has trained facilitators. (For a description of the FutureScapes Program, see Chapter 7.)
"The facilitation strategies and aids examined in these studies include the application of decision support systems to group decision-making and problem-solving tasks, refinements in conventional brainstorming and creative problem_solving techniques, focus groups as a source of information for generating and evaluating solutions to social problems, and ‘Interactive Social Modelling’ as a means of helping groups articulate and understand the problems and issues they seek to resolve."(p viii)
Six mediated-negotiation strategies are presented that highlight the communicative and emotional skills planners can employ.
The following books address environmental/public lands dispute resolution:
This book attempts to teach people a structured, analytic approach to the major environmental issues in dispute. Original case studies were taken from the EPA and edited for teaching purposes. The organization of this book reflects the order often followed during negotiations.
"Environmental and industrial groups want to participate more directly in what happens in the national forest system because they have such a great stake in it . . ." (p ix) The ideas found in this book are taken from scholars and practitioners in the field of public lands dispute resolution.
This book is designed for public agency personnel who are trying to balance citizen participation, public agencies, private interests, and the environment. Case studies are used to showcase the nine steps toward dispute resolution. Techniques for intervention, negotiation, and conflict resolution are also discussed.
INTERNET SITES ON CIVIC ASSISTANCE
Below are some Internet sites that provide useful guidance on conflict resolution. For other Internet sites on civic assistance more generally, see also Chapter 7.
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